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BEST AVALABLE COPE Nov, 2 1926. 1,604,972

I E. K. CLARKE HEATER Filed Oct. 24, 1925 lil) E [9( INVENTOR 2 BY M@GMI Patented Nov. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES eEsTAvAxLeLE coP.

1,604,9720 Paritair OFFICE.

ESTELLE K. CLARKE, 0F WEST ORANGE, JERSEY.

. HBA

Application fried' october' 2 This invention relates to heaters, andmore particularly to devices of this character which may be employed onvehicles',.particu larly automobiles, for the purpose of heating bottlesor the like.

The object of the invention-is to provide a heater of this type andcharacter which is simple in structure, efficient in loperation andeconomical of manufacture, installation and maintenance. Y

A further object of the invention is to prof vide a heater of thistypewhichis electrically4 operated, and which becomes operative whenthevbottle or other. receptacle is placed therein. y f y A further object-of' the invention is the provision of a resilient-support. for thebottle to maintain the saine safe. against breakage due to vibrationortlielikefyg.. Y.

1 ,Further Aobjects, of the invention vwill appearinorefully-hereinafter.

The invention consistssubstantiallyinthe construction, combination,location and relativey arrangementjofI parts, 1all 'as will be moreful-ly. hereinafter set. forth, as 'shown by the accompanying drawigsandfinally pointed out in the'appended-claims.

'Referringto the drawings, .in,vwhich. the same numerals are1 usedthroughoutT the -severalviews to indicate the same parts,

- Fig. l is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the heater mount-edon` its support.

. Fig. 2' is atransverse cioss-sectional'view taken on the -line 2 2, Fig.- l, andI looking in the direction of the arrows. Y .5; Fig. 3 is atransverse'cross-sectional view taken on the line 343,1? ige l-,-and-looking in the direction of the arrows'. i' A Fig..4 is an enlargedview of the lower end piece. 1

Fig. 5. is a .view in sideelevation lofthe endpiece, showing the switchmounted thereon.

Fig. -6 is a fragmentary view showing a slightly modified construction.Y

Fig. 7 is a detailed plan' view ofV a still further modifiedconstruction, Y.

A great majority of the people who own and operate automobiles alsonumber among the members of their families atleast one infant which isstill in its mothers, arms.

It is quite usual to provide such infants with food in the forni of warmmilk from :i bottle having a rubber nipple attached thereto.

As is well'known, infants1 become hungry .circuit and destruction.

TER.

4, 1925. seriai No. 64,581.

at such unusual times that it is not always convenient to provide warmmilk with which to appease their veracity. Especially is this true whenthe motorist takes his family for a trip or outing of any considerableduration.

I have, therefore, in response to this crying need, conceived ofaconvenient devicefor attachment to motor propelled vehicles, whereby ababys bottle may be safely cari ried either before heating or during itsheat# ing on the dashboard or other convenient place in a vehiclewithout danger: of destructionorloss.

IVith these objects in View, I Willnowdescribe my invention For purposesof illustration only, I have shown an embodiment of .my inventionmounted on dashboardl ofa vehicle, although I conceive that it may bemounted in any convenient placein thev,veliicle. The -casing 2 may bemade'ofany suitable insulating material, as glass,.bakelite, fibre steelor other material, andl serves to protect the heating-andfsupportingcoils 3 from short The case.2, especially wh'enit is of heat in@sulating material, such as asbestos, or the like, also serves to confinethe heat to the enclosed area thus accelerating the warming ofthe-bottleinserted in the space thereof. The upper ends 1of the coils 3project through the, insulating .ring l0. andare joined together inseries by'. short ,connections A. `*These coils Spass throughliolesiriean insu- -v-lating ringand terminate in airinsulating block 6 to whichthey may be attached in any suitable manner The short -jumper wires 7serve -to connect the coils A3 in series gat-their lower. ends.Bythismeans all the `coils 3 .are connected iii series with the cx--ception oftwo 'free ends 8 and 9 which are yconnected toa suitablepower source l1 and :switch l2 respectively, which switch is alsoconnected t'o the power source l1 by lead 13.

The ring l0 is detachably Asecured to the ring 14 which is mounted onthe dashboard Vor other1 support l.

It will be understood that the bottle or device which is to be warmedwill be inserted through the opening 17 and will be resilientlysupported by the coil springs 3. I of course wish it to be understoodthat I do not desire to be limited as to shape or size of thedevice,andit will therefore be apparent which due to their resilience, willv adaptthemselves as to relative position in accordance with the contour of thebottle or container inserted therein. Furthermore, Ifdo not desire to belimited orrestricted as to the particularV construction orI circuitarrangement employed, as many modifications will readily suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand. scope of my invention as deiinedin the claims. For example, asshown in Fig. 6, instead of having the resilient supporting wires 3 inthe form cfa conductor, their sole function may be to resilientlysupport the bottle or other container and the resistance element 3a maypass therethrough, in or out of contact therewith, as desired. It ispreferable in. this instance to have' asupporting coil of suiiicientdiameter tov aff ord relatively large movementwithout subjecting theconducting element. 3a to excessive strain.l v I Likewise, insteadofhaving'tlie resistance elementV connected' in'series, as in' thearrangement shown in Fig. 1, it may be connected in series parallel.where the ring 10, to which is securedonefend" ofthe coils 3 is formedof conducting materialwto which one lead Sis attach-ed; and the. otherend sof the coils"V 'areconnected together and the otherlead 9 isattached thereto.

Instead of a switch' 12 mounted on the dashboard 1, I also contemplatemounting av switch comprising a spring'finger 15 and a contact piece 16,on the block 6 so thatwhen the bottle is slipped into place'throu'gh theopening 17 its weight will. automatically close the circuit betweenngerl' and coiitact 16; Thisswitch will, of course, be connectedv incircuit in a'ffmanner similar to switch 12 but in place thereof.

It will be seen `from the foregoing that I have provided a simple,inexpensive' but nevertheless efficient device which maybe utilizedeither vas a part of the permanent equipment, or employed to attachthereto, at small expense and with very little effort as an .accessorythereto; and wl'ierei'n` a simple and safe device is provided2 for'heating bottles or other containers. Of `col1rse,when heating glassbottles ordinarily employed for feeding small children, theglas'sbeing anon-conductor, would not cause a short circuit in the series connectionwherein sus pension coils are used as the heating element. It however,insulation is desired, enamelled wire could be used. Itis also apparentthat the current source for heating7 the heatlr'esistance elements maybedrawn from the'storage battery o-r mot'orgener'ator of the vehicle. "ii' f Having now set forth' the objects and' na- BEST AVAILABLE COP.

ture of my invention, and having shown and described various structuresincorporating the principles thereof, what I claim as new and useful, ofmy own invention and desire. to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A receptacle heater for vehicles comprising a support having anopening therein to receive the article to be heated, means tor grippingand elastically supporting the article to be heated inserted in saidopening, 'f

and means for applying heat to the article to be heated.

2. A receptacle heater for vehicles coniprising a support having anopening therethrough to permit passage of a substantial portion of thebody of the article to be heated, a resilient spring support for theportion lof the article to be heated to pass through said opening, andmeans for supplying heat to the article to be heated at the point ofcontact between said support and the article to be heated.

'g3'. vA heater' of the type described comprising' a plurality of coilsprings forming an elastic support for the article to be heated, andmeansl for passing a current through said'spri'ngs' to impart heat tothe article to be' heated'and supported thereby.

The combination of a support having an opening to permit the passage ofa' bottle o r the like therethrough, means for elasticallyV encompassingand resiliently supporting the portion of the bottle projected Athroughsaid opening, and means for directly `applying heat to the portion ofthe bottle encompassed by said supporting means.

`5. vThe combination of a support having 'an openingito permit thepassage of a bottle or the'like therethrough, means for elasticallyrencompassing and resiliently supporting' the portion of the bottleprojected through said opening, and electrical means `for directlyapplying heat tothe portion of thebo'ttle encompassed by said supportinmeans.

*6g The' combination of a support having 'a'ii opening to permit thepassage of a bottle ,or the likertherethrough, means for elastifc'allyencompassing an resiliently supporting the portion of the bottleprojected' through'said opening, and means Jfor directly 1applying heatto the portion ot the' bottle encompassed by said supporting means, andalcasing surrounding said supporting and heating means to form areceptacle in 'which the article to be heated reposes.

7. The combination of a support having 'an opening to permit the passageof a bottle or the like therethrough, means for elastically encompassingand resiliently support- ,ing the portion of the bottle projected B1,604,972 EST AVAILABLE COP porting and heating means to form areceptacle in which the article to be heated reposes. Y

8. A heater of the type described comprising a plurality of coil springsforming an elastic support for the article to be heated, a normally opencircuit means for passing a current through said springs to impart heatto the article supported thereby, and means actuated by the insertion ofthe bottle into l0 my hand on this 22nd day of October, A. D. l5

ESTELLE K. CLARKE.

